Vehicle attachment



June 22, 19 P. E. VAN DER KlEFT VEHICLE ATTACHMENT Filed Feb. 18, 1941 2 Sheets-Sheet l INVENTOR PATRICIA E. VAN DER KIEFT June 22, 1943. P. E. VAN DER KlEFT VEHICLE ATTACHMENT Filed Feb. 18, 1941 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 H MII MW INVENTOR PATRICIA E. VAN DER 'KIEFT M ORNEY Patented June 1943 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE ,VEHICLE ATTACHLIENT Patricia E. Van der Kiei't, Darien, Conn.

- Application February 18, 1941, Serial No. 379,469 1 (Cl. 155-10) 1 Claim.

The invention relates to a child's seat attachment forautomotive vehicles, and more particularly to an auxiliary driver's wheel (or other control device) arranged for mounting in front of the vehicle seat in a position to occupy the attention of the child, and provide a safety guard for him. v

It is an object of my invention to provide an attachment for automobiles and the like, constructed and arranged to be removably mounted in a substantially fixed position in the vehicle,

and which embodies means for engaging the attention of the child, and which he mayhold in his grasp to prevent him from being accition is aiforded, also, for an adult person sitting beside the driver, who can brace himself against the inclined part of the floor. In the case of the child, however, there is nothing to keep him from being thrown forward or to one side upon sudden stops or lurchings of the car. In order to guard against this hazard in the case of very small children, safety seats or straps have been devised.

These devices are not suitable, however, for children'approaching school age. Accordingly, it is a further object of my invention to provide a safety device which can be used for children who are too old for ordinary safety seats.

A furth r object of my invention is to provide a combined safety device and educational toy for removable attachment in substantially fixed relationship to the seat of an automobile.

A further object is to provide an auxiliary seat for automotive vehicles which embodies a steering wheel element or other control device arranged in a position to be firmly grasped by a child using the seat.

Other objects and advantages will app ar as the description proceeds. In the drawings, which specifically illustrate certain preferred embodiments of the invention:

Fig. 1 is a-side elevational view, partly in section, of a device embodying my invention in one of its preferred forms. In this view, the device of screws.

In my preferred embodiment, the wheel l3is is shown as secured in place on an automobile seat.

Fig. 2 is a plan view of the same attachment. Fig. 3 is a view similar to Fig. 1, but showing a modified construction for attachment to the back of the vehicle seat; and

Fig. 4 is a plan view of a further embodiment,

of the invention in which the seat. is omitted so that the child sits directly on the vehicle seat proper.

Referring to Figs. 1 and 2, I have shown an attachment which comprises a seat member I 0 having securing means, such as the bracket II, for mounting said seat member in association with a seat element l2, which may be the cushion of the usual automobile seat. A simulated steering wheel I3 is secured to the seat In by means of a rod or bracket M which holds the steering wheel in a. position to provide a safety guard at the front of the vehicle seat, a portion of the back of which is shown at l5. If de ired, the attachment may also embody aback and arms to provide further support for the child. In the embodiment illustrated, there is a curved memher I 6 which forms a back and arms for the auxiliary seat Ill, and which may be secured thereto in any convenient manner, as by means of the supporting-rods II.

The attaching bracket H may conveniently consist of a rod bent to conform with the back of the seat cushion l2, and terminating in flattened end portions l8 which may be attached to the base of the seat ID by means of screws, or in any other suitable manner. The bracket II is provided with curved portions l9 fitting over the back of the seat portion l2,'and downwardly extending portions which may terminate in outwardly curved portions 20 joined by a bottom portion 2|, the design of the bracket H being such as to permit its ready insertion between the rear of the seat l2 and the lower end of the back IS. The rod or bracket ll preferably terminates at its lower end in a flattened portion 22, which may be set into a recess 23 formed in theunder side of the seat member III to which the flattened portion 22 is secured, as by means supplemented by other simulated vehicle control devices, such as the gear shift lever 24, which may conveniently be mounted on casing 25 at the upper end of the bracket H, as by means of a collar 26 oscillatably mounted on said casing.

Thus I have shown, by way of example, the collar 26 provided with a slot 21 having a guiding lever are subject to considerablevariation, and

that my invention is not limited in this respect to the exact features illustrated. The bracket I4 preferably has a straight portion 31 which follows along in line with the seat and projects out beyond the front of the seat cushion [2,

so that the feet and legs of an older child can straddle it easily, and to make it easy for the child to get in and out of the seat. The straight portion 3| of the bracket it joins an upwardly and rearwardly curving portion 32, which in turn joins a straight portion 33 simulating the steering column of an automobile.

In Fig. 3 I have illustrated a modified form of mounting in which the device, instead of being v hooked over the back of the seat cushion, is provided with a supporting element adapted to be hooked over the top of the back I5 of the seat. This supporting element may consist of a bracket, or pair of brackets, 34 secured to the seat I II or to the back and arm structure I 6 thereof. The bracket 34 preferably is provided with flattened end portions 35 which are recessed into the back of the auxiliary seat. In thisembodiment, the construction of the steering wheel and gear shift mounting may be the same as has been described with reference to distance above the seat cushion,.affords the child a clear view through the windshield of the car, so that he can imagine himself driving the car and will be deterred from grasping the regular controls of the automobile. Ordinarily, the child can be expected to busily engage himself in following the movements of the driver of the car, and in doing this he will, of course, be holding on to the control devices so that, in the engagement with pin 28 secured to the casing could do injury when the child is thrown forwardly thereagainst.

Figs. 1 and 2. The seat Ill, being supported some In Fig. 4 I have illustrated a still further em-- bodiment of my invention in which the auxiliary seat I0 is omitted so that the child sits directly on the cushion of the vehicle seat proper. In this form two side frame members 36 are secured together by a transverse member 31, all of which members may conveniently be made of ordinary strap iron riveted or welded together. The rear ends of the frames 36 are bent downwardly and outwardly to provide integral attaching brackets 38 adapted to slide down in back of the seat cushion l2 in a manner similar to that which has been described in connection with bracket II in the embodiment illustrated in Figs. 1 and 2. At their forward ends, the frames 36 are bent inwardly at 39, upwardly at 40 and rearwardly at ll where they join the base of the casing 25 of the horn and gear shift assembly.

It will be understood that the features which have been described with reference to only one or more ofthe embodiments described above could be applied to the other embodiment or embodiments as may be desired. The terms and expressions which I have employed are used in a descriptive and not a limiting sense, and I have no intention of excluding such equivalents of the invention described, or of portions thereof, as fall within the purview of the claim.

I claim:

An attachment for automotive vehicles which comprises an auxiliary seat member, means for securing said member to an element of the vehicle seat proper, a supporting member extending forwardly, upwardly and rearwardly from said seat member, and simulated vehicle control means mounted on said supporting member in a position directly above the vehicle seat proper.

PATRICIA E. VAN nan KIEFI. 

